Post-Covid Church

The crisis created
universally by the pandemic Coronavirus, the lockdown after that, the aftermath
of these two unexpected events have altered the life of individuals, families,
communities, countries and the globe once for all. It appears that life is not
going to be the same any more. As the days proceed, the expectations of the
people are getting converted into depression, faith giving way to frustration,
marriages being cancelled, plans beings postponed for ever, dreams being
destroyed.

As Church personnel, we
are called upon to respond creatively to this situation. Some of us were in the
forefront at least trying to provide some relief to the affected people; some
of us were there reaching relief packages to the most needy; some traced the
migrant labourers walking or lost on the way and tried to get information about
their whereabouts and followed up on them. But there were also many of us who
remained stay put in our presbyteries and residences, seminaries and
sanctuaries, trying to be cozy and comfortable, irrespective of all that were
happening around us.

But there were
priests, religious, bishops, formees, students, youth, who risked their lives
and were on the streets to be of some service to the affected population of the
country. The central and state governments, district administrations, medical
personnel, police personnel, civil society organisations, private enterprises,
educational institutions, corporates, film world, daily wage earners and common
masses of this country are already discussing and deliberating upon this. It is
our pastoral, spiritual, religious and humanitarian obligation to search for
lockdown exit strategies and share with others and work with all to achieve
these strategies.

Celebrating one of
the most unusual Holy Thursday Masses of all time, which took place in a nearly
empty St. Peter’s Basilica, Pope Francis remembered priests living and dead
amid the coronavirus pandemic, saying they along with the doctors and nurses
represent the “saints next door” during the crisis (CRUX, 9th April,
2020). We draw inspiration from the Holy Father.

Similarly, while celebrating
the Holy mass on 18th May, 2020 he assured the faithful,
“God
loves his people and he visits them...in difficult times”. He expects his followers to visit people in
distress like God would visit them.

Some
Preliminaries

1) It is great to
acknowledge that from the time lockdown was imposed without proper planning by
the government, most of the citizens of the country have been trying to follow
the guidelines provided by the government. Due to this it appears that the
country has been able to control this pandemic. With the extension of the
lockdown up to 31st May, it was hoped that the country will be able
to face this crisis better and return to ‘normalcy’. But the ever rising virus
cases caution us not to be too hopeful.

2) Due to the lifting
of lockdown, either partial or full, there could be rush of people for various
reasons. It is important to continue with social distancing as far as possible
and also invite others associated with us to do the same. As conscious,
committed and concerned citizens, we are called to prepare our people to deal
with the exit strategies which the government hopefully will come out with. If
not, we need to come out with exit policies for those people who are associated
with us so that the spread of the virus can be contained and more harm is not
done to our fellow being.

3) There are
institutional set ups within the Church to respond to crisis. If these institutions
are able to respond to the crisis, it is well and good. If some of these
institutions are not able to respond then it is time to encourage and permit
individual initiatives so that the affected people find help. Later these
individual initiatives can be institutionalized. It is not the time to uphold
the sanctity of institutions when those who man these institutions are not able
to respond appropriately and adequately.

4) Instead of
expecting the entire body or different ministries or different institutions to
respond to this crisis or be involved in lockdown exit strategies, it is
expedient to invite, initiate and permit institutions and individuals who would
respond immediately and in a planned manner. As one proceeds, it would be good
to call for meetings of various sectors and arrive at some common minimum
policies and programs and leave the rest to the individuals and institutions to
carry out to be at the service of the high risk persons, families and
communities.

5) In this extremely
grim, depressing and unsure situation, most of the Christians – lay faithful,
priests and religious - have been able to take all the precautionary measures
and remain safe and healthy and also have been trying to respond to the most
affected and needy people. With our limited resources and personnel, we have
done well in collaboration with the local churches, our collaborators and
coworkers, alumni and people associated with us we have tried to accompany the
affected people in their massive and crucial struggles to survive. But this is
not the end of the story. This crisis is going to continue for a long time and
it is essential to get ready to cope up with the emerging situation and to
prepare others for the same.

6) It is mandatory to
be attentive to the guidelines and directives of the government starting from
the national, state and district not only in the lockdown phase but in the post
lockdown exit phase. Most of these guidelines could be most unconventional, out
of the ordinary, not of the beaten path. Some guidelines could be restrictive
and obstructive. But it is important to pay attention to them and see how these
can be adhered to.

7) Finally, a massive
and unprecedented crisis like this cannot be responded by a few individuals and
institutions. It is imperative that all of us have to put our heads and hearts,
personnel and resources, institutions and contacts to respond to this crisis in
a more humane and humble manner so that not even the scar of this crisis remains
to haunt anyone. We ourselves and our people have to move on leaving behind the
crisis.

8) Pray, fast and
services are the three mantras that need to become part of us. Pope Francis has
reinvented this as a way of life for all the Christians and people of all
religions. It is ultimately in our faith that we seek and search a lasting
answer to the crisis and the sufferings that it unleashed on us and on our
people.

Possible
Church Responses

1) Pastoral Response to Exit
Strategies

Ø
Organise Eucharistic Celebrations at different times, in
different places and for different groups in addition to the one time parish
mass. People have been starved due to lack of opportunities to participate in
the Holy Eucharist. The pain and agony of the lay faithful due to lack of
opportunities to participate in Eucharist and other spiritual practices in the
Lenten and Holy Week is unimaginable. Hence, it is important to feed them with
this spiritual nourishment.

Ø
Encourage People to organize and get invited for Holy
Eucharist and other forms of worships at their convenience and place of
their choice. Catechism classes have
been affected. Hence, we need to device ways and means to work out religion and
moral science classes.

Ø
Organise the Sacrament of Reconciliation for all the
parishners or in mass centres. Every pastor is aware of the importance lay faithful
place on the Sacrament of Reconciliation during the Lenten Season and Holy
Week. They did not have this opportunity hence it has to be planned and
programmed in our pastoral activities in the coming days and weeks.

Ø
Utilise every opportunity to celebrate different sacraments
in the parish, mass centres, homes of the faithful, Basic Christian Community
locations, institutions, etc. Expecting the faithful to come to where one is,
cannot be the mode of operation now on. Going out to where the faithful is the
only way of being the Church.

Ø
In addition to the homilies, ask, allow, invite the faithful
to share their spiritual and religious experiences during the lockdown. Both
lights and shadows will strengthen the people and will energise them to face
the dilemmas of exit strategy and get ready for ‘normal life’.

Ø
Organise catechism and faith formation classes for the
children and youth. Let it not be based on the routine content and method. Let
it for the time being focus on the crisis generated by the coronavirus crisis.

Ø
The lay people devised many spiritual, religious and
meaningful Lenten practices, liturgical services, way of the cross, blessing of
the palms, washing the feat, veneration of the cross, veneration of the pascal
candle, reading cum meditating on the passion narratives etc. To give an
example, in some families, the washing of the feet of the elderly person was
done by the family members. This brought the family together. This was
maintained keeping the social distance wherever possible. It is important to
encourage the lay faithful to continue these practices so that in eventuality
of similar crisis and lockdown and closure of the church and worship places,
they have the alternative forms of worship in their own places so that they do
not suffer guilt of not participating in religious worships and spiritual
practices.

Ø
Those pastors, shepherds, priests and religious who were
conscious of the situation arising out of the lockdown, creative, committed to
the pastoral care of the lay faithful were constantly in communication with the
lay faithful, parishes, religious communities, etc., regarding indirect,
informal, non-institutionalised and non-clericalised forms of worships and
liturgical practices. We the pastors, priests and religious need to continue
with this new form of being church of the people and train ourselves further so
that in future too these become readymade responses to crisis. This should also
become part of the formation of seminarians and formees.

Ø
The first Sunday after the lockdown is lifted, organize a
well planned Eucharistic worship involving people much more as active
participants than silent spectators as it happens often. This is the first
Eucharist they are attending after the lockdown is imposed. For weeks and
months, they did not have the opportunity to participate face to face in the
Holy Eucharist. Hence, plan this well and in advance. Not too much homilies and
speculative speeches about Covid-19 but more a personal, emotional and
spiritual experience it should be.

Ø
With all these pastoral responses, it is also good to explore
the possibility of providing relief to the poor catholic families who are
affected. In addition to them, it is also good to explore the possibility of
providing relief to poor families who are from other faith. When the relief
phase is over, explore with them the possibilities of livelihood options. Wherever
Catholics are better off it is good to motivate them to support the less
privileged Catholics.

Ø
It would be great if the Bishops of each diocese take a lead
in this to work virtual now without delay to prepare and inspire parish
priests, pastors and pastoral teams to innovate means and methods to enable the
faithful to handle the lockdown, the spiritual blockade due to this and the
need to organize special and specific programs once the lockdown is lifted. This
would be in the line of Pope Francis who had wanted his pastors to be the ones
who ‘can smell their flock’. If not, we have utterly failed our faithful, our
people, our faith, our pope and our God.

2) Exit Strategies for Socio-Development
Works

Ø
Christians as individuals and as members of Church
institutions have been responding to the needs of poor people affected by the
coronavirus crisis and the lockdown. Till these people are able to get back to
their lives and livelihood we may have to carry out food supplies to the high
risk families in whatever way possible.

Ø
As done in crisis like this, it is important to identify the
needy people most affected by the lockdown. From the past crisis and from this
exceptional crisis, we have learnt that the following in different situations
are the segment of people who are at high risk: widows, women headed
households, domestic workers, rickshaw pullers, ragpickers, migrant workers,
daily wage earners, head and pull-cart vendors, brickkiln workers, sex workers,
transgenders, people with disability, leprosy patients, poor and deprived Dalits,
Tribals, Muslim, slum dwellers, support staff of our own institutions, etc.
Among these those who migrated from some other place due to lack of ‘documents’
are not counted ‘eligible’ to receive relief and rehabilitation packages. If
they are Dalits, Tribals, Muslims and women, they suffer doubly. Hence, they
should get the priority of place in all our efforts.

Ø
Special focus has to be on the migrant labourers who are
either still in the camps lodged by the government, or on the roads trying to
reach their homes. It is really a tough task but we need to explore. If we
already have migrant cell in our areas of work it would be easier or at least
now we need to think individually and collectively of being at their service.

Ø
It is time that Dioceses and the religious collaborate so
that duplication can be avoided, limited resources can be utilized well for the
needy, lessons can be learnt for better response. Keeping aside ego problems,
it is time to respond as one believing community.

Ø
Explore the possibilities of networking with other NGOs and
civil society organisations so that there is a wider platform to address this
massive issue. Niti Aayog of the Government of India has issued guidelines to
all the district administration to work with NGOs and civil society
organisations and identify one of them as the nodal agency to lead this joint
venture. The Church can be a nodal agency in those districts where the church
has a strong presence and where its track record is good.

Ø
Every country is affected by the COVID-19 crisis. But inspite
of this, many of the funding agencies are providing small and big help for
those organisations who are doing credible and innovative responses. Caritas
India, CRS, Manos Unidas, Misereor, Missio, Caritas Germany are some such donor
agencies who are willing to provide some support. But some well thought out
projects have to be sent to them for their consideration and action.

Ø
The Diocesan Social Service Society in consultation with the
Bishop and the religious need to take a lead to work virtual now without delay
to prepare and inspire and to share information and innovative ways of being at
the service of our people.

Ø
Skill development of the youth in collaboration with many
agencies who are working already on this so that the youth who due to lack of
mobility are frustrated do not remain in frustration but find some engagement.
This will on the one hand will resist them from becoming anti-social elements
and on the other will make them productive for themselves and their families.

Ø
The Church need to seriously search for alternative
livelihood options since now there are many more people who will be searching
for work since those who migrated have come back to their villages. Already,
there was less job. Now with more army of labourers there will be struggle for
the limited livelihood. Hence, it is essential to plan in advance and search
for alternative livelihood options.

Ø
Set up Migrant Cell in each diocese. Covid-19 not only
exposed the government’s total lack of preparedness to address it on medical
grounds but it also exposed its total lack of political will to safely transfer
the migrant labourers from one place to another. One of the reasons for this is
that there is no accurate data with the state and central governments about
migrant labourers. Due to this, proper planning could not be done as to how
many are to be transferred back to their respective places from their places of
work. To ensure that this tragedy is not repeated, it is essential to record
migration from district to state to outside the state so that plans can be made
for them.

3) Educational Response to
Exit Strategies

Ø
Education is one of the sectors that is most affected by the
pandemic and even more by the lockdown. Millions of students and teachers are
unsure of their future regarding education. It is clear that lockdown for
educational institutions will continue until 31st May, 2020. In some
states of north India, schools used to open only after June 15th.
This date could be extended further. Since education sector is the one which
draws large number of children, teachers, management and parents, our
educational institutions need to plan in advance a three pronged exit strategy.
They are: during the lockdown, during the exit phase and finally when the
lockdown is lifted. Each of them would have specific responses and also
continuity of some of these from one phase to the other.

Ø
It is heartening to see many suggesting that the students and
teachers should be encouraged to continue the teaching-learning through online
classes. This will keep both engaged and this would also keep them from getting
bored or depressed during lockdown. Using the available technology our
educational institutions need to innovate modules and methods for this keeping
the curriculum and syllabus in mind. Since we are used to traditional methods
of teaching, it is imperative that we need to innovate these now.

Ø
But
having on line classes is only one way of engaging the students and teachers
for education. We need to keep this fundamental fact that online classes cannot
replace actual classes held in a school within a classroom. It is a face to
face interaction in the classroom that forms not only the intellectual aspect
but the emotional, behavioural, attitudinal, social, civil formation of a
child.

Further, UNICEF has warned of two consequences: 1) Most of
the children do not have access to the online classes; 2) Millions of children
are at increased risk of harm as their lives move increasingly online during
the lockdown. The internet exposure puts children at the risk of “online sexual
exploitation and grooming, as predators look to exploit the Covid-19
pandemic”. Overlooking these facts many priests and religious are
vociferously advocating online classes with no clarity at this juncture.

Ø
During the lockdown phase and post lockdown, in addition to
communicating the academic matters to the students, teachers and parents it is
pertinent to share awareness on precautionary and preventive measures so as to
block the spread of the virus.

Ø
Offer facilities of our school and college campuses to the
district administration for lodging migrant labourers who are on the move due
to sheer frustration of being denied the right to stay in a dignified manner.
It is this segment of the population which is the backbone of unorganized
production sector but are denied of their rights and dignity. Our efforts to
offer the facilities to place them in better condition would go a long way to
alleviate their sufferings.

Ø
We can also offer our campuses to prepare isolation wards so
that the virus does not spread. Some of the state governments have already taken
over some private schools by force. Our institutions have the necessary
facilities like electricity, water, toilet, open space, play ground etc. These
are the natural facilities required for those to be quarantined or isolated.

Ø
Whenever schools or colleges open, it is expedient to invite
only the teachers and support staff first and if need be late on they can go to
prepare the classrooms and the campus. But more important is, to organize
‘sessions to process’ the impact made on teachers and their families due to the
lockdown. If they have time to process the boredom, fear, sadness, loss of
someone, depression, they went through, they will be able to help the students
to process their experiences. First few days should be invested more on this
and less on academics. This will enable everyone to be on the same board and
then engage in academic pursuits.

Ø
Greater effort should be made to address the issues in the
rural educational institutions where the spread of the virus was less but the
lockdown was severely imposed. Also these institutions do not have the
facilities for online work. Hence, totally different methods should be worked
out for these institutions.

Ø
School management has to seriously consider the issue of fees
without letting down the quality of education.

Ø
It was heartening to hear that some of the Church
institutions were producing sanitizers and making it available for their own
staff and for the district administration. Due to lack of transportation, these
could not be made available for wider public. Once the lockdown would be phased
out, these colleges can think of negotiating with the district administration
and produce sanitizers in a big way so as to make it available for the wider
public at an affordable price.

4) Exit Strategies to
Accompany and Involve Young People

Ø
From many reports it is clear that the young people who are
mostly mobile in normal situations are one of the most affected group due to
lockdown. Since it was reported that the coronavirus affects mostly the
seniors, the youth could neither go outside nor remain at home. If the space in
the house was limited, they felt all the more disappointed. In this situation
it is important that the youth commission has to plan programs from June-July
onwards to accompany the youth and enable them to get out of this grim
situation. Enabling them to process all that they went through during the
lockdown will help them to get ready for any future eventuality.

Ø
Also youth have the potent and power to be of service with
the less privileged. It is time to explore as to how to get the young people
involved in the lives of others as volunteers on specific projects. This would
be therapeutic as well as socially productive. The government failed to utilize
this youth force in responding to the issue of the migrants.

Ø
Many of the youth were in the forefront in innovating
spiritual practices, prayer methods, singing and creating creative clips and
videos to move people from frustration to hope. How to keep this innovative
strength of the young people should be our concern now.

5) Exit Strategies for
Social Communication

Ø
It is common knowledge that the lay faithful, priests and
religious, dioceses and conferences all over the world innovatively responded
to the spiritual and religious needs of the faithful both lay and clerical
during this long lockdown. It is time to record and document them so that these
are available for all not only in times of crisis but in other times as well.

Ø
Many awareness programs like social distancing, keeping
oneself clean, sanitisation and maintaining mental equilibrium helped all to
prevent the spread of the virus, take precautionary measures and control this
pandemic. Hopefully, these will also help us to come out of this crisis. It is
good to continue to spread these awareness programs in more creative,
user-friendly and meaningful way so as to handle any crisis in the future too.

Ø
Lots of people either created short clips, quiz, documents,
brief notes, etc., or shared the old ones with friends and all. These were used
by people not just for time pass but for some meaningful messages and also for
a therapeutic exercise. In India we lack
clips, films, documentaries that are children and adult friendly, something
that family can watch together, something informative, raising awareness and at
the same time interesting. But during the COVID-19 crisis, people innovated
some of these. It is time to document and record them and preserve these as
treasures for the future.

Let us be united with the Holy Father, Pope Francis in his faith
and hope. He reflected, “For many, this is also a time of worry about an
uncertain future, about jobs that are at risk and about other consequences of
the current crisis. I encourage political leaders to work actively for the
common good, to provide the means and resources needed to enable everyone to
lead a dignified life and, when circumstances allow, to assist them in resuming
their normal daily activities’.

But he also strongly prayed and hoped, “May Christ, who has
already defeated death and opened for us the way to eternal salvation, dispel
the darkness of our suffering humanity and lead us into the light of his
glorious day, a day that knows no end”.